In recent years, as smart devices such as smartphones, tablet computers, and computers and tasks requiring security features such as mobile banking and Internet banking by using such smart devices have become widely used, users are increasingly required to confirm or input their passwords when they are in a public space. Personal information such as the user's password can be easily exposed to other people or cameras because they are displayed on the front surface of the smart device without being protected by any physically implemented blocking screen or the like. Hence, many techniques concerning security in inputting a password have been proposed, yet there still isn't a technology satisfying both security and convenience in inputting and confirming a password.
Therefore, development of a physical security channel that enables a user to securely confirm or input a password is still demanded.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a general channel and a security channel according to prior art.
In accordance with an embodiment of the prior art smart device, a security channel is a channel separate from a general channel. The general channel is activated in a normal state, and when a user calls the security channel, the security channel is activated and a password is displayed on the whole screen of the smart device.
By way of example, although a physical one-time password (OTP) device needs to output a password only to its user to be visually checked, the password is always exposed on a screen. Likewise, while a user checks a password or confidential information through a screen of a smart device, the password or confidential information is displayed on the whole screen. As such, in the case of using a separate security channel to display a password, the password is always exposed or has a wide exposure range on the screen, and, thus, it can be easily leaked to attackers (others than the user, cameras, and the like) near the user.
Therefore, to solve such a problem, there is a need for a security channel interface that enables a user to take natural physical actions and provides the security channel which is not exposed to external media other than the user.
In this regard, Korean Patent Laid-open Publication No. 2008-0073121 (entitled “Finance automating device and display method for preventing its secret number from being leaked”) suggests a finance automating device, and a secret number input device and method for activating a secret number input menu window by touch recognition of a user through a screen display unit and setting a size, a position, and a transparency degree of a secret number input window as desired by the user during an active state.